Amazing! Biggest solar flare I have ever seen just a few hours ago!

Thank you very much!

ok observation here...

On the original post the link had a graph above the animated gif... it seemed that the flare only reached a level C.. to me this was HUGE...however remember last year I believe, when they said there was one or two X class flares? the graph scale looked linear to me and not logarithmic, but even so...

If this latest was just a C class, I can not even begin to picture the X class flares that happened!

[edit on 25-1-2007 by Arkangel4time]

Well as Stephen Hawking was saying. We should get the hell out of here!

Well, Ed Dames said something about a 'killshot' solar flare. It is being discussed on ATS here:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

What do you make of this?

Nobody's terribly excited about this, because it's headed off at right angles to the Earth. It really is huge, and the presence of the sunspot is something to be looked for. But unless the flare is pointed directly at us, we won't have any impact from it.

There are two parts to a Solar Flare. Radiation and Charged Protons/Ions

RADIATION:

Moving at the speed of light, it only takes about 8 minutes to reach the Earth from the Sun. During a large X-class flare, tremendous abounts of gamma/x-ray radiation is blasted out into space.

But here is the trick, by the time our probes see and detect the flare, and radio that information back to us here on Earth, the radiation is well into its 8 minute commute to our blue marble.


PROTONS/IONS:

A solar flare not only releases radiation, but also physical mass in the form of charged atomic and sub-atomic particles. These particles do not move at the speed of light, as radiation does. It typically takes anywhere from 24-48 hours for the particles to get here.

When they do arrive, the charges particles slam into our upper-ionosphere and magnetosphere. Most of the particles will be defelected around the planet in the upper atmospheere, but trace amounts CAN and DO make it into our living areas here on the surface.

The real threat from these particles is to our satellites in orbit. One good slam of charged particles moving at incredible speeds against a communications sattelite, and you might loose MTV and your cell phone.


FURTHER READING / LINKS:

NASA | Sun-Earth Connection
NASA | S.O.H.O. Solar Observatory
Montana State University | Solar Flare FAQ

[edit on 25-1-2007 by damajikninja]

[edit on 25-1-2007 by damajikninja]

Holy Crap!

This should be at the top of ATS, in the headline section.

The last one the happened around the end of November 2006 and screwed up communications and many other things on earth. It wasn't even close to this one.

I think it is time we start tracking these on this site and find out the lag time between the flares and what transpires shortly afterwards.

Excellent post!

Ok I agree its a big flare but why all the fuss there have been bigger flares before.

The sun ate too much spicy food.



To be honest, i would be glad if it renders satelites useless...

Whoa! Great Post, thanks for heads up!

Looks like we could be in for some real solar action in the next few days when it faces the earth! Yikees!

That's fantastic, i sure hope it does :0

The class of the flare measures the peak energy correct? Not the total amount or size of the flare. Or am I wrong?

Anyone know of any other flares that darn big?

honestly it wasn't that big. in 2003 there was an X40 class flare. 1859 there was a flare large enough that in greenland they found trace amounts of nitrates and beryllium-10. Besides what you really have to worry about is the size of the proton storm. in 2005 an eruption from a flare to 15 minutes to reach earth, that proton storm was traveling 1/3 the speed of light. We are just starting to go into the last stages of the 11 year cycle.

That flare was maybe a C class, most we'll ever see out of it is an M most likely. Each class is 10 times larger than the previous

Doesn't the Mayan Dec. 21, 2012 event state that our sun will be in the center of the Milkyway? It's all cloudy, but something about the crossing point of Galactic Equator and ecliptic.............and "opening the door to the underworld", when our sun hits this point. I don't know much about it but I do remember it's not fun.

I love protons they are really really good to build muscles. opps that would be protiens.

I remember watching the SOHO site a couple years ago, and as I watched it I saw an expanding ring come from the sun, the ring grew bigger, I said to my girlfriend, "Holy crap!, I think we got a big solar flare coming this way!"
I was right, it was in the news the next day, I think it was one of those x flares of 2003.


It's like if someone blew smoke rings in your face, it grows bigger as it gets toward you.

I was thinking this as some of you posters were wondering if those flares were coming our way, IMO they are not.

I find it funny I saw this at the right time, it's not like I watch the SOHO site all the time, but at the time I watched it a fair amount.

<---Mr.Sunny

That was amazing. If it was pointed our way it should make for some nice northern lights, no?

This is one of my particular areas of interest. ATS has a few good threads on the subject, and I suggest you go hunt them down. There is also a plethora of info out on the net that you can go Google for.

Here's the skinny:

December 21st, 2012 - Modern astronomy can tell us a lot about the black and white facts of where we will be in space at that time, where our planets will be, etc. The fun thing is that the ancient Mayans and Sumerians (and some speculate thed Egyptians) knew about this long ago, and depicted the events in their carvings.

So what do we know? Well, we know that on that date, our the bodies in our solar system will all be in alignment. The Transit of Venus will occur once again due to this (Venus passing in front of the Sun). Our Sun will also be in the peak of its solar tantrum cycle, causing some groups to speculate that the magnetic poles of our Earth and possibly other planets could be shifted or reversed altogether.

Besides all this fun stuff occuring in our Solar System, the whole of the solar system itself will be in perfect alignment with the eliptical plane of our Milky Way galaxy. It will be the first time this has occured in umpteen-xillion years.

Also, the area of space that our solar system will occupy at that time will be smack in the middle of a strange nebulous cloud that scientists have been studying and tracking for a few years now. To my knowledge, we do not have a clear understanding of what the cloud's effects could be on our Solar System and the Earth itself.

So to summarize:

1) Our sun will be at the peak of a Solar Hissy Fit.
2) Our planets will be in alignment.
3) Our entier Solar System will be aligned with the eliptical plane of the galaxy.
4) We will be in the middle of a strange nebula.

Take this modern astrtonomical knowledge, and apply it to the ancient legends of our ancestors. The Mayans refered to this period as the "Cycle of Civilization." They even accuratley predicted these alignments to the date, thousands of years ago. And they chose to end their calander on this date. Not restart it, but END it.

No one can know for sure what will happen during the strange times of late 2012, but as the date draws nearer, we are certain to learn more. We truly live in fascinating times.

I have barely scratched the surface of this topic. There is much more to cross-reference from anthropology, astronomy, astrology, and archaeology (where does that tunnel go underneath the Sphinx?). I suggest you take a look at some of the links I have provided here, and do some research of your own.

~DMN~

REFERENCE
The Mayan Connection
The Strange Nebula
Galactic Alignment: Astronomical Data
National Geographic | Solar Storms in 2012

We're also apparently now in the galatic centers flattened magnetic field line, or will be entering it soon. Is that what you meant by the nebula?

BTW still more action.

www.lmsal.com...

It would be irresponsible to not bring up the disagreement of the Mayan 'end date'. The Dec 2012 date was determined by archeologists and has been promoted almost militaristically since. There is, however, significant academic dissention on that date. There is an exceptionally strong argument that Oct 28, 2011 is the actual end-date of the Mayan long count. See this article for details.